Drawer locking mechanism



C. R. RElTzEl.

DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM May 28, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet' l Filed May 20.1954 May 28, 1957 c. R. Rr-:lTzEL DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM 5sheets-sheet 2 Filed May 20, 1954 INVENTOR May 28, 1957 c. R. RElTzEl.

DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 20, 1954 INVENTORUnited Statesk Patent DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM Clarence R. Reit'zel,Youngstown, Ohio, assigner tn 'lhe General Fireprootin'g Company,Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 20, 1954, SerialNo. 431,078

6' Claims. (Cl. S12-E219) This invention relates to locking devices andis more particularly concerned with such devices which have a generalapplication to the drawers of desks and similar furniture.

Oce desks, for example, are frequently provided with` locking deviceswhich are actuated by a master lock, customarily associated with one ofa group of. drawers, usually an upper drawer. The operation of thedrawers and locks of the present invention` is such that when the masterdrawer is closed and locked with a. suitable key, all the other orsubordinate drawers of the group, if closed, are alsolocked, or, ifopen, can be locked by merely closing the drawers and none-of lthedrawers can then. be opened without unlocking. the master drawer.

One of the objects of the present invention is the prov ision of. anovel mechanism in combination witha group of drawers of a desk or.other similar article of. furniture,

which will function in the manner explained above.

Another. object of the invention is the provision of such a mechanismwhich issimple and easy to manufacture and to install. in an article offurniture.

A. further. object of the invention is the provision of such`a-mechanism. which issturdy, positive in` action, and employs only. afewparts.

A still further objectof the invention is` the provision of such amechanism which` is` reliable and long wearing and in which p artsthat.` are likely to wear out can be readilyv replaced without.disassembling thef mechanism,

except for the part to be replaced.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will=befapparent from the following description considered together. withthe.accompanyingV drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1. isavperspective view of the mechanism of an embodiment of theinvention anda fragmentary part of oneof the.v subordinate desk drawers,the master key lock being inl the openposition.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of a portion of the master drawer towhich the key lock isn attached.

Figure 3' is a' perspective interior view of a subordinate drawer in=the closed' position, partly broken away, showing the relative positionsof the engageable locking parts associated therewith when the key of themaster lock is turned to the unlocked position.

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3 with the drawer nearly closed andwith the key of the master lock in locked position.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figures 3 and 4 with the drawer in thefully closed position and the master lock in the locked position.

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the lock dog bracket and shield,its relation to the drawer, and the means for mounting the lock dogthereon.

Referring with more particular-ity to the drawings, in which likenumerals designate like parts throughout the several views, theembodiment illustrated comprises a rocker shaft 11 mounted in ahorizontal positionbelow 2,793,927 Patented May 28, 1957 ice - 'the top1-2of the desk. Bearing. brackets 13 and 14 are provided for rotatablysupporting the shaft on the desk at any suitable point, such as thestructural frame member 1'5 ybelow the bottom of the desk top.

A portion ofthe shaft 11 is bent in `a U-shape to provideV an eccentricarm- 16 and` by means of which the shaft can be rotated. The eccentricarm is positioned above the master drawer 17 and justY behind thekeylock 18 mountedon its front panel or wall 19. The tongue or bolt 20 ofthe lock 18 is movable in a vertical direction and the back of the boltcarries a wedge-shaped cam 21. which, in the upper position (dottedlines of Fig.k 2), engages the eccentric arm 16 and moves itcounter-clockwise, as viewedin Figure 2, thereby causing theV rockershaft 11 to rotateA to the position shown by the dotted lines. When. thecam 21 is returnd to its` lowermost position, as shown by the full linesin Figure 2, the eccentric arm 16 can be returned to its position shownby the full lines'andy isso-returned automatically by means which willbeexplained more fully hereinafter.

The ends ofthe-rocker shaft 11 are bent back to provide rocker arms 22,22, respectively. Each rocker arm is provided withan outwardly extendingiinger 23 parallel tothe rocker sha-ft 11. The fingers 23 each restagainst the bottom of a notch 2'4 Iin ,a horizontal lift bar 25 and eachliftbar' has attached to it a vertical lock bar 26 which is slidablymounted for vertical movement adjacent a tier of dependent drawers 2.7vof the desk vagainst the inner walls of thev drawer channels.

Thezbars 26 are movable betweena lowermost position and an uppermostposition'a'ndare biased to their lowermost positionv under thel inuenceof ygravity `or any other suitable means, such as springs (not shown),which causes the rocker shaft 11 to rotatev clockwise as viewed in.Figure' 2'. This rotation: is limited, however, by an abutment member28= in the form of a bracket attached 'to the bottom of'theA desk topand projecting down in front of theeccentric arm 1'6, substantially asshown, although it is apparentithat other" means may' be employed, suchas by4 permitting the latch support' bars t'o come to rest against the.bottonr-wallof the drawer channel orV u other suitable abutment.

The lockfbars` 26 are provided with striker clips 29, one foreachdrawergwhich cooperate with resilient lock dogs 30.. Thelockdogsf'compri's'e each al resilient V-shaped member' havin'gairearw'a'rdly extending horizontal portion 31v secured to a bracket 32on the side of the drawer. Each member1301is attached tov itscorresponding bracket by any suitableameans, but it' is preferably'removably attached tosimplify' replacement should it become broken, bythe means'v illustrated and comprising a finger 33 and ai stub pini` 34-projecting upwardly from the horizontal portion 31.' through apertures'35 and 364 of the bracket'32. The` finger33-isin`ia`de long enough to bebent or clinchedv down-rearwardly over the top of the bracket 32 asillustrated.. f Y

The forward end of the lock dog 30 is provided with a vertical portion37. The bracket 32 has a forwardly extending portion 39 which curvesdownwardly at the front to provide a skirt or shield 40 in the generalshape of a quarter round and the vertical portion 37 is slidablydisposed in an aperture 41 of said forwardly extending portion 39. Thefunction of the shield 40 is to make the device pick proof. A crimp 42is provided in the portion 39 immediately in front of the horizontalpor- "tion 38 of the member 30 as a barrier for the portion 38.

The striker clips 29 'are each formed of a piece of spring steel whichis bent and shaped as illustrated to provide an outwardly projectingloop 43, vertical bearing portions 44 and 45, and resilient fingers 46and 47. The portions 44 and 45 lie at against the bar 26 and the fingers46 and 47 grip the sides of recessed portions 48 and 49 of said bar.

In the fully closed position of each drawer and when the keylock 18 isin its locked position, the striker clips 29 are each disposed inthejspace 'between a shield 4t) and the'corresponding vertical portion37. Y In this position, the drawer cannot be opened because, as shown inFigure 5, the vertical portion 37 is in abuttingirelation with thestriker clip 29. When the key lock 18 is in its open position, ythewedge cam 21 is outof contact witheccentric arm 16, and the 'bars26 are,under the force of gravity, moved to their lowermost positions. In thisposition, the striker clips 29 are below and out of horizontal alignmentwith their respective lock dogs 30. Consequently, the drawerscan beopened and closed freely without bringing into action any of themechanism.

'Y If any of the drawers are in the closed position when` the lock 18 isactuated to its locked position, its lock dog, in each case, willbebehind its corresponding striker clip, as shown in Figure 5, and the4drawer will be locked. However, should any of the drawers be in theopen position after the lock 18 is turned to thev locked position, thedrawer can readily be locked by simply moving it to its closed position.Such movement will cause the member 30 to ride up and over the loop 43against its inherent resilient action, as shown in Figure 4, until itmoves otr" the rear end, whereupon the member 30, because of itsresilience, resumes its normal position and the vertical portion 37moves behind the loop 43 to prevcnt the drawer from opening until thebar 26 is lowered.

I claim:

l. A drawer locking mechanism comprising in combination with an articleof furniture having a drawer channel and a drawer slidably disposed inthe channel, of Ia vertically disposed bar slidably mounted -formovement between a lowermost position and 'an uppermost position in thedrawer channel adjacent the drawer, a striker carried by said bar, aV-shaped resilient lock dog having a horizontal portion at one end `anda vertical portion lat the other, a bracket carried by the drawer forsupporting said lock dog, said bracket comprising a horizontal memberand means for securing the horizontal portion of the lock dog theretoand having an aperture engaging the veritcal portion of the lock dog,and shield means carried by the bracket between the lock dog and thefront of the drawer.

2. A drawer locking mechanism comprising in cornbination with an articleof furniture having a drawer channel and -a drawer slidably disposed inthe channel, of ya. vertically disposed bar slidably mounted formovement between a lowermost position and 'an uppermost position in thedrawer channel adjacent the drawer, a striker carried `by said bar, aV-shaped resilient lock dog having a horizontal portion at one end 'and-a vertical portion at the other, a bracket carried by the drawer forsupporting said lock dog, said bracket comprising a horizontal memberand means for securing the horizontal portion of the lock dog thereto,and having an aperture engaging the vertical portion of the lock dog,and shield means carried by the bracket Ibetween the lock dog 1and thefront of the drawer, said shield means comprising a portion spaced fromthe vertical portion in an amount sufficient to accommodate the striker.

3. A drawer locking mechanism, comprising, in combination with anarticle of furniture having a drawer channel `and a drawer slidablydisposed in the channel, of a vertically slidable locking bar mounted toone side of and `adjacent the drawer, a latch striker attached to thebar and provided with finger grips for snap-on engagement with the bar,a yieldable lock dog `attached to the drawer for selectively engagingsaid striker, a rocker shaft having a rocker arm connected to the 'barfor moving the striker in position for cooperative engagement with thelock dog, said shaft having Ian eccentric arm, `a key lock having amovable bolt and a member attached to the bolt and having a cam portiondisposed at `an oblique angle to the direction of movement of the boltfor engaging said arm when the bolt is in a predetermined position.

4. A drawer locking mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the bar hasrecesses for receiving the finger grips and thereby preventing relativemovement between the finger grips and the bar.

5. A drawer locking mechanism comprising, in combination with `anarticle of lfurniture having a drawer,

channel andra drawer slidably disposed in the drawer channel, of avertically disposed bar slidably mounted for movement between a lowerdrawer releasing position` and an upper drawer locking position, saidbar disposed' adjacent the drawer and being vbiased to its lower drawerreleasing position, key controlled means for lifting the/ har, a latchstriker carried by said bar, a leaf spring lock dog carried by thedrawer and having at its underside an inclined yieldable portion totrail over the striker when the bar is in its upper drawer lockingposition,/and also having a vertical portion for abutting said strikerto hold the drawer closed when the bar is secured in the said upperdrawer locking position, and meanson the dog for shielding its verticalportion from an instrument intended to effect unauthorized opening ofthe drawer.

6. A drawer locking mechanism `as defined by claim 5, including a rockersha-ft for controlling the bar, a rocker arm connected to the shaft,means connecting the rocker arm to the bar, carn means actuatable ibysaid key controlled means for rotating said shaft to move the bar tolocking position, and means for limiting the rotation of` said shaft.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

